"This Made Me Smile..."

Hunter Sigmund, left, and Jake Bain on their prom night.

Gay High School Football Player And Swimmer Boyfriend Dance Night Away At Prom
Jake Bain and Hunter Sigmund celebrate their relationship with classmates.

Outsports.com
Jim Buzinski
April 17, 2018

For seniors Jake Bain and Hunter Sigmund, it was their final high school dance together. And the two openly gay St. Louis athletes made the most of it this weekend.

“Prom this year was amazing,” Sigmund, a swimmer and water polo player told Outsports. “It was my fourth school dance with Jake and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend our last high school dance.”

Bain, 19, and Sigmund, 18, are the only openly gay couple at John Burroughs School, but their being at the dance was old news to the students there.

“This is the second year he and I have gone together, as well as to our homecoming dance the past two years, so this wasn’t the first time,” Bain, the school’s high school football captain, said.

“We have been the only openly gay couple at Burroughs since I’ve been here, but it isn’t a problem at all at our school. People treat us the same. It is nice to be able to go to prom with whoever you want and not have to worry about what other people might think.”

Hunter Sigmund, left, and Jake Bain.

While having openly LGBT couples at proms is not rare, it also remains an issue in many parts of the country. But the students, faculty and administration at Burroughs have been ultra-supportive of Bain, who drew a protest from the Westboro Baptist Church homophobes after his coming out as a high school football star became national news.

In the fall, Sigmund will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an honors student, while Bain will attend Indiana State, where he will also play football. By being themselves at a time in life that is very challenging, the couple have done a lot to end stereotypes and increase acceptance.

Here is their official prom photo. The matching bowties are a great touch: